Ministered to and ministering

I woke up with a crick in my neck this morning, and this reminded me that I was overdue for a visit to the McTimoney chiropracter I saw several times before Christmas. I phoned Clive and was lucky enough to book an appointment at midday. He found plenty of issues to work on, as life with such an awkwardly placed wound has meant much awkward movement and use of arms to shift my weight around in an unbalanced way over the past few months. Although conscious of the awkwardness and making an effort to rebalance myself, the effect of never doing so perfectly accumulates and takes its toll. The treatment did me a power of good, making movement easier and less stiff. The crick in my neck has gone, and I'm glad of that.

I walked from Clive's treatment room down to the local shops, visited the bank and after shopping for a few items went on to the wound clinic for a dressing change, before returning for a late lunch. Twenty minutes after finishing, I was collected for the funeral at which I was to officiate in Saint Catherine's. This concluded in Thornhill crematorium, after the journey from church in surprisingly heavy traffic for a Thursday afternoon in half term without school run traffic. The funeral drivers complain about how much worse congestion is already due to suburban expansion to the north and west of the city. How it will be in five years time with thousands more houses in new estates being built, without adequate infrastructure expansion to match population density growth, is a worrying consideration.

By the time I reached home, it was gone five. I'd been invited to join a post funeral gathering at the other end of the parish, but didn't have enough energy to socialise. Thankfully I did have enough energy to discharge my duties to my own satisfaction. I know when I need to rest, and when I do so, often wonder what I really should be doing instead. I've felt for years as if I should be doing much more than I seem capable of. I don't know who this internal slave driver is, or where he comes from. It's an odd business, never really comfortable or satisfied with my own efforts.